Gay dating app murders
In an evolving and increasingly digital age where many people have found their perfect match through these dating apps, the real dangers of online dating must also be highlighted to ensure that these horrific and life-shattering crimes are avoided.” “I fear that these statistics are actually just the beginning of a wider issue surrounding a lack of sexual and relationship education. A significant share of these, 58, are said to have occurred in the Greater Manchester area, leading to Leech’s involvement: “There are people impersonating romantic partners and friends in countries where being gay is illegal, then threatening to out the user,” said Ian Holloway, an assistant professor of social welfare in the University of California, Los Angeles, Luskin School of Public Affairs.Last week the Liberal Democrat cited police statistics showing that more than 500 criminal incidents across the United Kingdom, including murder, rape and child abuse, 162 of which are listed as sexual offenses, have been linked to both Grindr and Tinder. This can be particularly important outside of relatively accepting countries, like the United States and nations in Western Europe. "They know where to find the people they want to attack, and they can turn to these apps to do so."Ĭoston added that as a result, it's important for dating apps to educate users about how their data - including their location - is being used and to integrate safety features within their designs. "This is why we see a rise in hate crimes during Pride Month and increases of hate crimes in 'gay-friendly' neighborhoods," Coston said. Lack of protections can enable "mission-oriented perpetrators," Liz Coston, an assistant professor in the department of gender, sexuality and women's studies at the Virginia Commonwealth University, told NBC News. One of the victims, who said he went to the location under the pretext of sex, told a local newspaper that he was ordered to empty his pockets, hand over his personal property and give the suspect his bank card pin number.
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In Oklahoma, a man was arrested last September after police said he kidnapped and robbed several men at gunpoint after luring them via Grindr to an Oklahoma City location. “In this case, the defendants misused the internet for sinister purposes in order to target an innocent man based on his sexual orientation, causing him bodily harm and damage to his property.” Brown for the Eastern District of Texas said in a statement last April after two of the men were sentenced. “This case highlights the danger of the internet and specifically, online apps,” U.S. The men, whose ages ranged from 19 to 21, were sentenced to between 10 and 20 years in prison for breaking into victims' homes, tying them up with tape, physically assaulting them and yelling gay slurs at them.
#GAY DATING APP MURDERS SERIES#
Last year, following a similar incident, authorities charged four men with federal hate crimes for a series of North Texas assaults and robberies after they posed as gay and manipulated victims into divulging their home addresses via the app in 2017. "The indictment further alleges that Jenkins and Henry caused bodily injury to four victims because of their actual and perceived sexual orientation," a Justice Department statement reads. “We also listen to and engage with our community through many channels, encouraging them to report suspicious activities, and investigating and addressing issues that are brought to our attention.” Related
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“We take a number of measures to protect our community: from providing safety information to assist users when interacting with others online, banning user accounts that violate our Community Guidelines, redesigning our in-app reporting process, to obscuring geo-hashing data in countries where it is unsafe for the LGBTQ+ community,” the spokesperson continued.
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In a statement shared with NBC News, a Grindr spokesperson said the company is “deeply saddened and disturbed by the violence perpetrated” upon the victims and added that the company is “committed to creating a safe online environment for all of our users.” They will read about this case and continue to go about their day.
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"To some, this will be just another hateful and violent act in America. "The allegations are that social media contacts were used to target, contact, rob, fatally shoot one gay man and seriously wound another gay man," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement.